NK Investigative Report 2001

North Korea Investigative Report

Week 9 - Female Refugees (cont)

An In-Depth Look

The plight of female refugees in China is one we found highly emotional. Women who venture across the border for food and money face much greater dangers than those of men. The long journey is draining on women, and crossing the polluted river that separates North Korea and China exposes them to infection. Missionaries often must take these women to a gynecologist immediately because they lack feminine hygiene products and clean underwear in North Korea.

Women must beware of kidnappers who prey on them as soon as they cross the border for sale as wives for elderly and disabled Chinese men or as prostitutes. Often beaten, raped and mistreated, female refugees are helpless to flee and notify authorities because they can't speak Chinese and their presence in the country is considered illegal. If caught and repatriated, they are beaten and severely punished by North Korean soldiers. The majority of them are separated from their family and never see them again.

In a small town, we met three young North Korean women in hiding. They have been living in China for a few years and don't plan to return home. The female refugees said they live in constant fear of being caught despite being taken care of by missionary guardians. For security reasons, they remain secluded in their rooms and rarely venture outside.

One woman married a Korean-Chinese man, but cannot obtain Chinese citizenship because she is in the country illegally — a severe problem for both her and her husband. He is extremely abusive and beats her whenever he is drunk. We saw some of her bruises and scars as she spoke with us. This woman makes a meager living by knitting pictures to sell. While in China, she became Christian and wanted to give 100 yuan (US$12) as an offering, more than her monthly salary. The missionaries, understanding the difficulties of these people, told her that she only needs to offer ten percent to God. But she felt grateful to God and insisted on giving that much money. She also wanted to please her husband, so she gave him the rest of the money she earned. However the husband bought more liquor, became drunk and beat her again.

Another of the women has a husband who was captured in China and sent back to North Korea. She has no idea if he's still alive and worries about him constantly. She too has become a Christian and prays for him everyday.

A missionary told us a tragic story about a young North Korean woman and her mother. As soon as they crossed the Tumen River, a man in a car kidnapped the young woman and sold her as a town prostitute. The mother was worried sick, but all she could do was return home and wait. The young woman eventually escaped back to North Korea, but was captured by North Korean soldiers along the way. As punishment, her head was repeatedly banged against a wall. When the soldier's arm was tired, he told the woman to bang her head by herself. For three days, she was tortured and beaten, after which she fainted and was let go. When she finally arrived at home, she found her mother ill, so she left for China again to find medicine and food. This time she met missionaries in China who aided her, but during her return trip she was recaptured by North Korean authorities. Fearful of being punished again, she attempted to kill herself by overdosing on the medicine for her mother, but she instead became severely ill. Her stomach was bloated and she was unable to stand up and move, so her mother went to China to find help. The mother was able to find a missionary to tell this story, but during a refugee crackdown she was caught and sent back to North Korea. The missionaries presume that the mother and the young woman are both dead since they haven't heard from either of them in several months.

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